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Central Control
sitemap . . . . = Rapture Central Control (BS1) = . . . . . . . . . . Revised Level Maps : (Click To Enlarge) --- --- --- --- Rapture Central Control contains one set of power and utility control/transfer/distribution equipment for the utilities coming out of the Hephaestus complex. It also has Ryan's Bunker, with its living arrangements and security and control systems (and independent life support systems). Map Orientation is based on the entry path Safety Airlock we went thru from the Hephaestus map ( CCW rotation 90 degrees from that map ). Hephaestus's level 2 corresponds to the Rapture Central Control map's level 1 (connected via that Safety Airlock connecting the two Buildings). --- --- --- Fixes : The door you bypass by going thru the vent a level above doesn't even connect to the WYK room on the other side (there is no corresponding door in that position). So I've added that other half of the door into the room. - Additions/Modifications : A detail not previously explained : You see lots of small areas behind walls (usually Orange), some marked with 'Utilities', many with no marking. There were many hidden areas behind the living space walls where the various support systems were squirreled away - water pipes, electrical conduits/equipment, communication lines, ventilation ducts/fans, and access space to service all of them. Many of those spaces (in the more recent maps) have a hidden panel access from the main living space, thru which many of these utilitarian nooks and crannies would be accessed, but there is no visible door (for aesthetic reasons). You will become very much acquainted with these hidden spaces in the MMORPG, as you would both explore them ( and closer to home, repair/rebuild things in them). Rapture Control had no restrooms... Come to think of it, Hephaestus didn't seem to have any either. Added some for operators convenience, and a deluxe one for Ryan. Fancy looking power equipment (of some function or other). Power technologies was one of the areas of knowledge/technology which Ryan himself was supposed to be a genius in (and one of the sources of his industrial fortune). The big machinery in the center of the 'Control Room' looks more impressive than an Electrical Utility Switching Yard/Whatever would be (it is a prop insignificant to the plot anyway). There is no real reason for it being/looking like that (maybe it was to impress visitors ?). I've added alot more machinery and stuff behind various walls and in unseen rooms/floors which would be more appropriate to control Power Routing throughout the City. The larger part of Rapture Central Control's function would be remote control/regulation of the power/utility/heat lines running throughout the City, and control/metering of the generation units in the extensive Geothermal Systems. Major Addition - one of the Main Electric power switching and transformer yards is now attached to Rapture Central Control, along with connections/conduits for the power mains which run from there to the rest of the City. Transformers for converting generated electricity to high voltage for long(er) distance transmission are there (you don't just power a City thru a few circuit breakers). Switching frames to route electric circuits as needed along the redundant Power Main routes/grid, and to/from redundant sources (the other Power Stations have similar switches and parallel conduits). An added Bathysphere Transfer Station (connecting by water tunnel to the Hephaestus Cableway Hub) is shown, allowing Ryan and Central Control staff to transit directly (bypassing walking thru Hephaestus). Of course Ryan would/should have his own if Porter could have that ridiculous Batcave one ... "HEPHAESTUS HERMIT - Ryan Seeks Solution in Seclusion." -- headline. Ryan needed safe space/facilities to live in, so this 'bunker' was added (shoehorned in, so it is not exactly the Taj Mahal). Added a Traffic control/dispatcher for Geothermal facilities Submarine activities. This would eventually be Coordinated by computer (The City utilities was one of the primary customers for Rapture Central Computing) to organize the complex's monitoring and maintenance operations -- predicting failures was one of the jobs which moved computing forward (employing Ryan's/Hephaestus's Money), eventually towards "The Thinker" (the Independent Reasoning Processor). Rapture Central Control was an important Communications hub for Rapture, which coordinated much of the City's infrastructure. Utilities were monitored (and problems detected) and load levels controlled. A bit more than the 'ad hoc' few maintenance guys walking around Rapture portrayed in the game, or in the Novel (Ryan was an industrialist, and you DON'T just run such huge installations with a few guys walking around with wrenches, turning valves). - Inset diagram (map level 2) shows sideview of the Utility Aqueduct structure -- a double tube with the separate Tramway transport and utility conduit sections. These Aqueduct lines criss-crossed Rapture (sometimes their equivalent was embedded in the lower levels of the extensive 'Street' system, which connected most of Raptures Building Clusters.) The system would have redundant links to handle mishaps and temporary shutdowns for maintenance. The (added) Utility Aqueducts are self-contained structures carrying the City's main power lines and other utilities (water, air, communications lines, Jet Postal tubes, control systems). The structure includes a utility Tramline to facilitate maintenance and repairs along the network. The power Aqueducts pass thru many substations located in the City building clusters and criss-cross Rapture, forming a redundant network (every building cluster can get power from at least 3 different power mains). The Tramline comes into the main building and has those 3 way paths which are called 'Wyes' which allow a 'train' to go thru from any direct and forward to the other two directions. And by using a backing movement, a train can turn itself around to go back forwards the way it originally came. Utility Aqueducts ( & Tram lines) go South to connect to the other 3 Hephaestus power stations. They are used to connect the utilities AND to transport equipment between the Power facilities and the Repair Workshops at Hephaestus complex. Other Aqueducts go North and East to carry utilities to the City (The other plants have similar redundant Aqueduct lines). The trams likewise transport replacement machinery and maintenance personnel when needed. Additional power conduits travel along the AE tracks, and the 'Streets' which connect the Hephaestus area in 2 directions (North towards Neptunes Bounty and East towards Vulcan's Forge). See MetroWays2X_18 Because these Power Conduits run for long distances, they would be built with some flexibility to compensate for the seabed shifting. Much of the length 'floats' -- is not solidly connected to its supporting structure, allowing it to shift when required. The large hot water pipes are similarly constructed with this feature. Note- There is one cross-connecting Tram line viaduct going thru to Hephaestus. Its used for moving manufactured/serviced power equipment (transformers/switches and such) out along the power network to the nodes/substations in the Cities building clusters. Other redundant Tram lines would also connect at Hephaestus (and to the other Power plants). Just like on real railroads, the Tram system would have a few special cars for moving oversize loads (to big to fit the standard maintenance tramcars. Larger items would be slung between two 'trucks' to allow transit of items as large as the trams bulkhead doors. Small passenger tramcars would also exist to move utility personnel around with their tools and equipment without having to use the public transit. It is plausible that the Little Sisters Vents (being part of the original utility system) are still connected, and the trams were the way Little Sisters were brought to the facilities (somewhere) where their ADAM is 'obtained'. The Utility Aqueducts which criss-crossed Rapture would have been an obvious route for lots of telephone wires and Radio/TV coax cables (space rented by the other utility/commercial entities). The Trolley system 'Street' structures contained utility Mains (and Tram) in their lower level (with a similar isolated/water-tight utility conduit). Garbage hauling was also done via these Tramlines, which also could be used by the security/emergency units. The facilities seen have a somewhat disorganized state because of hurried retrofitting done for the Civil War to make Rapture Central Control more secure and self-sufficient in case of attack (it being a key control point for the City). Large amounts of bottled oxygen was brought in and put into various corners. Security measures were greatly increased. Ryan had private accommodations added, and he eventually moved in fulltime, for 'the duration'. The Power Center #1 seen (in these maps) handles 1/4 of the power flowing out of the Hephaestus Power Complex. The others are spread out in the different sections of the Plains of Hades, but are controlled from Rapture Central Control. The other 3 Power Centers/Plants have no large 'Cores', but are powered by many small modular power generator units. The other Power plants have redundant control systems to prevent any full system failure. Switching nodes throughout the City connect/route redundant paths to each cluster of buildings. Utility Cores in each building have their own local Utility Systems with transformers and breakers to provide local protection. Cutoffs/Breakers exist at City Bulkheads, but most of the system runs through separate sealed (more secure) Utility conduits, so that utilities (Power/Water/Air) can go thru even if buildings themselves are flooded. The City Heating system is a totally separate network (having their own 'Aqueducts' - the large diameter concrete pipes - likewise redundantly criss-crossing the City ...) - Observations : Alot of automatic controls of the power/heat/water systems (flowing out of Hephaestus) was likely in place by the time of the 'Civil War'/Anarchists Rebellion. If it was not, any manually operated system WOULD HAVE been force to operate with many fewer personnel, causing the system to degrade in a major way threatening Raptures survival (much moreso in the addition years between BS1 and BS2 ). The 'Control Room' (and Hephaestus) must have had alot of automatic systems, as there does not seem to be much evidence of staff/operators in there (those consoles don't appear meant to be manned 24/7). Not exactly what you see in a typical industrial control room where all the remote monitors/indicators/gauges/switches are mostly centralized - to be run by a few people. Instead, we see catwalks and control stations, which might require a bit of running about -- not too convenient when serious problems start to occur. Not sure why the Computer Control Console (right near where you 'kill' Ryan) has an inspection date of 1941 (someone at the game company didn't get the memo... (Just shows you have to take what's 'Canon' with a grain of salt). Even if installed in 1946, those were the times computers were changing rapidly, by the year). The Console says made by "Fontaine Futuristics" (except 1941/1946 was too early for Fontaine anything). I don't think if I was Ryan, I would have trusted anything made by Fontaine (there must've been other companies that made high tech computing systems -- but since this was BS1, the writers hadn't yet even come up with Rapture Central Computing or McClendon yet.) The hardware probably was originally made on the Surface, and then modified locally. Rapture Central Control is one of the more densely packed buildings in Rapture, with many pipes and conduits (only partially shown) running from one end to the other (another basement floor below level 0 is not shown). On several occasions, additional equipment and machinery were retrofitted as the City's power complex grew. Ryan spent alot of time there and had various accommodations added so he did not have to leave for extended periods. There probably would be a large 3D model of Hephaestus and of all of Rapture, which Ryan and his engineers would have used as a tool for planning and status reporting (models like this were frequently used before there were computer simulation/displays). An Analog computer embedded in such a model would be used to project/manage/calculate power and heat transmission/loads throughout the City. - Various tubes and pipes outside in the water : The Geothermal Field that Rapture uses as its power source extends for well over a mile on that Southern end of Rapture with a multitude of smaller wells and generating units that feed the power (and hot water) to the switching yards, where it is routed to the City. As mentioned before, "Harmonic Core #3" was one of the 'prebuilt' units used early in the City's history, and actually provides only a tiny fraction of the City's power -- the majority coming from the numerous smaller modular well/generators spread across a large area. The energy in the hot water tapped from the Geothermal vents is substantially greater than the amount turned into electricity for the City. The cold ocean water draws warmth out of every building/structure and hot water from the Geothermal fields is used to keep it all at livable temperatures (We should have had some areas in the Solo game where boiling water and jets of very hot steam were a hazard). That Weird red glowing liquid stuff is NOT hot lava (which in real life cools instantly when it hits water). You wouldn't be able to see any red hot lava anyway, because all the steam churning/bubbling the water would totally obscure any direct view. Instead, that glowing is more likely red Bioluminescent algae and bacteria living in the high temperature water around the various natural geothermal vents, and also seen growing inside those clear tubes channeling that same hot water. Not sure why large hot water pipes should be running into Ryan's Office, as most of the Central Control mechanisms there would be electronic/electric. The Level Developer must've thought that reusing big glowey pretty red pipes would look good ... I guess. Well, I've converted them to be an independent heating/power backup system for Rapture Central Control, allowing it to continue to function even when everything else fails. A large battery room for emergency power is located below Ryan's Office. - The Aqueducts and their support trestles were prefabricated at the Rapture Cement Plant (where Dionysus Park was later built) , and were floated to their installation locations throughout the City. Somewhere nearby to Hephaestus (out in the water) there is a supply yard full of spare sections of Aqueduct components (something that will be very useful in the MMORPG when damaged section of the network are to be repaired). - Somewhere nearby would be Security Central for Rapture with the primary barracks and arsenal (and training facilities). Probably was also the administrative offices for the City Constables. - Those Security Airlocks - never did figure WHY it has windows (a liability) when they look out almost immediately into a concrete wall. Access space for maintenance, but what need for the routine users to see that ? AND that should be inside a separate sealed/pressure containment -- empty of water with any machinery likewise INSIDE the structure. They might have made perfect spots for advertisements (captive audience while the airlock cycles). But no, the window, as seen, and really serves no purpose (except to tell a PLAYER they are transferring between 'levels'). - Separately owned power companies existed at Vulcan's Forge and Hudson, and had their own infrastructures to carry their services to various parts of the City. Most areas had access to at least two of the three large competing Utility companies, and there were many smaller more specialized organizations running lines all across Rapture. Conduit Space in Hephaestus's Utility Aqueduct system was rented by many. - The "Big Impressive Looking Thing" in the middle of Rapture Central Controls's atrium is actually (my idea) a Very Low Frequency radio transmitter-receiver (seriously it is not like any kind of real looking electric power control/distribution system device) which Ryan uses to communicate to his still existing World Organization. The VLF radio bounces signals off the Earth's molten core so is not traceable and penetrates deep water and can reach to the other side of the World if needed (The US military uses a similar system to talk to submerged missile subs across the world). This device was an important component in keeping Rapture's secret, as normal radio from the Lighthouse could be traced, and there were huge amounts of communications required to coordinate Rapture's construction and later for other supporting Surface operations. - More Observations : The special alcove to the right of Ryan's Office framing the Vita-Chamber. That's a bit strange as the Vita-Chambers did not exist when Rapture was first built. So that office arrangement must've been a later revised floor plan, expanded and incorporating that alcove feature. That whole side is rather too large to contain just the Vita-Chamber, so would have had another function. --- I envision a comfy 'Command Chair' with lots of display monitors/controls clustered around it, and lots of amenities and means of communications. A movie screen on the wall with a projection room behind the chair - 'Ice Station Zebra' came out in 1968, so the still alive Ryan could watch it when Delta was tramping about in Lamb's diseased little Collective.) The testing of Vita-Chambers with them only allowed to be tuned to Ryan's "genetic frequencies" ?? How exactly do you actually test the advanced features of "dead people come back to life" if it is limited to only work for Ryan, and you have to effectively KILL the person involved to see if it can 'work' properly ??? Just more illogic contrived to facilitate the 'Jack' parts of the plot, and the game 'Auto-Save' mechanism of the Vita-Chambers 'reloading' the Player when they die (not really sure why this was considered any better than the standard Save+Die+Reload system most games use - and the 'entanglement' garbage certainly makes a proper Sci-Fi explanation more difficult). That Vita-Chamber (we see in Ryan's Office) is off. Strange. All the others had no On-Off switch. Sounds kinda suspicious to me. Maybe that turns it 'Off' for people other than Ryan (or he didn't like the humming sound it makes all the time) ?? Maybe it just turns Off the deluxe vibro-massage feature ??? Ryan really had 2 more Vita-Chambers in Central Control's basement (turned on) - 'just in case'. Born around 1908, Ryan would be about 52 in BS1 times (1960). But perhaps constant use of the Vita-Chamber's revitalization features could have him looking 40. By the time of the MMORPG (1970), with continued use he may have aged very little (convenient for the MMORPG plot). Excuses are given in various quarters about why 'Ryan is Dead', and how he can't be alive (Vita-Chamber turned off, yada yada...) yet there actually IS a turned ON Vita-Chamber just a short distance away in 'Control Room' (and I recall being 'revived' by some Vita-Chamber elsewhere in the game at a distance much further away than that one is to where Ryan is killed). In any case - "Dracula ALWAYS returns ..." - Seeing that row of TV monitors in the first room of Rapture Central Control (and having fun rapidly shooting them all out ) it came to mind that somehow there should have been a many more 'skill' activities/puzzles in various places in the game(s), for the player to further the plot. Use of ordinary weapons (gun shots at a sequence of targets/buttons on an unreachable wall, wrench to force turn or bash a valve, grenades to blow up obstacles pushed through a small aperture, and the like). Such things don't always have to be done for the main plot advancement, but would give the Player more to do (instead of just mow down yet another couple of Splicers). - Those ridiculous Ryan busts in his inner sanctum control room (where the self-destruct override is). I've talked before about how the game's writers heap the BS onto 'de ebil' Ryan to fabricate a character you are supposed to dislike (so somehow you will like Atlas, who I really started to wonder about on seeing those 'Who is Atlas' propaganda posters in Arcadia, and the fact that he really didn't do much to help you OR to 'get Ryan'). But I guess when it is all mostly a shooting-gallery game, any kind of subtleties/cohesive facts only get in the way. Statues in the Master Control Room : Does Ryan have them talk to him like those animatronic things in the Tiki room in Disneyland ?? Sounds like an idea for an 'amusing' Fantasy Flashback (Splicers have all kinds of weird dreams ...) A big Ryan statue in that hall in Hephaestus would have been the one to do the "The Great and Powerful OZ" scene (having it breath fire would probably wow the Splicers ...) At least there is no Giant Theater Pipe Organ in Ryan's lair, which on entering you would have seen Ryan playing (like in so many dramatic cliche scenes in movies, used to portray a maniacal main character) -- though that whatever-the-heck-it-is thing that is supposed to be the "Master Control Panel for Rapture" (or somesuch) looks a little bit to be in that category. That Master Control thingee actually looks like a monitoring system with that plugboard, to manually tie into cabled sensors throughout the Hephaestus complex (from the early days when things were less automated, and for Failsafes you wouldn't want 'tube' electronics to handle - 'keep it simple, keep it safe' ...) A bit ludicrous that 'Raptures' control would simply be transferred to Fontaine with the simple insertion of a 'Genetic Key' (remote control of the entire City by anyone out in Apollo Square would hardly be something Ryan would allow, even if it was remotely possible). Why would Ryan have any such thing to do it that way anyway ?? - Not quite sure how the Little Sisters dragged you (Jack) unconscious all the way to Olympus Heights. But on the other hand, they did get an Alpha Suit to the place Delta was reconstituted. Maybe they use those little Red Wagons we see so many of. But why would Ryan allow any avenue for Little Sisters to even get into his 'Central Control'. RCC would have had its own independent air system (complete with redundant oxygen generators and scrubbers). It all must've been part of a conspiracy between Ryan and Tenenbaum (He wants the 'Cure', and she wants to save the Little Sisters ...) So how exactly did they (LS), with or without Tenenbaum's help (and any minions she might have loyal to her), extract you from Rapture Central Control and transport your unconscious body over to Olympus Heights (at least 2 miles away on my Map) ? (If it wasn't done with Ryan's help ??) And did they drag you ( Jack ) thru those air Vent things ? A possible answer may be ( and for Little Sister movements in general ) is that they make use of the Utility Tramway system which you get a look at on this level. The Utility viaducts and 'under-streets' systems criss-crossed the City, and could have been employed as the "Little Sisters Underground Railroad" to move them about as needed - quicker, and with alot less scraped knees and banged heads. Ryan controlled a majority of the utility networks, and it appears that those street wandering 'little ghouls' started to only happened after Fontaine was 'gone' (so could use Ryan's infrastructure unhindered). Big Daddies would probably make use of the same transport for themselves and for moving repair materials and tools, with some distributed Big Daddy Depots. The Little Sister's ADAM "turn-in"/extraction (reclamation) facilities may have also been at numerous spread out locations ( being connected closely with the Tram lines would then make alot of sense ). The simple Utility Tram system could be largely automatic and require minor conditioning/training to be used by either the BD or LS ( Little Sisters probably saw them as a 'Pony Ride' in their weird delusional worldview ). Perhaps the 'Safehouse' (the one you wake up in) had originally been one of those Little Sister's Extraction Facilities (likely setup/retro-fitted post-Fontaine, so Atlas might not know about many of them) -- all this fits more and more. It had a nice convenient office (which Tenenbaum was in), standard secure doors, convenient access to the utility levels, a 'street' entrance more than just a manhole cover ... - Need a Diagram of an Air Vent hotel for sleepy Little Sisters ... ???? You don't expect them to crawl very far when they are sleepy, do you? All this stuff would have to be retrofitted LONG AFTER the original Return-Air Vent structures were built -- good thing there are all those hidden spaces you see in my maps to use for things like that. Cubbyhole with a bed ... But what of when they go back to whatever central site their ADAM quota is extracted at ?? (later maybe Big Sisters did this on-the-spot to carry back to Sofia Lamb ??) - "Break that sweet puppy's neck" - Suchong (I guess Suchong wasn't a "dog" person ...) http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/4343590#slide-13 - Commentary : The Self-Destruct thing with the steam pouring out of the system console -- all very dramatic, but completely irrational/nonsensical. I guess they needed some dramatic filler while Fontaine gave his little victory spew. The MMORPG would hopefully give you alot more realistic things to work with for situations like that. Self-Destruct ???? Amazing how these things in Fiction Stories always seem to have an easy to activate Self-Destruct, when in the REAL WORLD alot of fancy expensive measures are usually CAREFULLY built into REAL machines to PREVENT catastrophic destruction, and will have no easy way to do such by accident (or at all). Hephaestus 'cores' blowing up would NOT actually destroy Rapture directly (I assume Ryan would have activated something similar for all the rest of the extensive/redundant geothermal systems - the other 3 power plants - but he would not control the competing companies' facilities ). Indirectly, Rapture losing most of its power/heat/water could still doom the city - it just would not be as fast or spectacular as this alluded to 'explosion' they (Ryan) pretend would happen (it would be more like the lights go out and everyone slowly freezes and asphyxiates to death ... not quite as dramatic). - The Twist that Never Was : Incompetent writers missed the obvious 'wheels within wheels' possibility that Ryan Faked His Own Death too. How much better it would have been for 'dead' Andrew Ryan to suddenly interupt Fontaine in his little Victory Monologue to say : "BTW Fontaine, I figured it out a while ago and Jack has just brained an Animatronics Mannequin from Ryan Amusements. I've deprogrammed him, and he is now COMING FOR YOU, I'll be watching as your erstwhile pawn brains YOU and gives Rapture just an iota of Justice for all of its Citizens you have murdered. 'Dos Vadanya', or rather 'Say Hello to the Fishes' for me". (( Will make A nice "What Really Happened" Flashback for the MMORPG ...)) The WYK room shows that Andrew Ryan had pieced together the evidence of Fontaine's plan (its quite a bit more than what might be accomplished only in the time since Jack's arrival). That would allow plenty of time for Ryan to come up with HIS 'twist'. Animatronics, like the ones at Ryan Amusements, and Jack's ADAM-addled mind ... Not so hard to fool/fake something that was hardly even human (what kind of life/understanding could 4-year old Jack have really been 'conditioned' with ?? And YOU saw it through those eyes/brain, seeing/understanding mere hints of what was really going on.) Fontaine/Atlas is seeing/hearing it Indirectly/Remotely so, the shadow play wouldn't be made clear. - Ryan Fakes Out Fontaine : The Vita-Chamber in Ryan's office, allegedly 'turned off', still functioned normally regardless of whether Jack (the Player) activates it, and it will revive Jack if killed by Fontaine's Security Bots. Thus it should have resurrected Ryan when Jack killed him. Since it did not, it follows that it was NOT Ryan that Jack killed. The "Ryan" probably was an animatronics device (borrowed from Ryan Amusements) which looked and acted enough like Ryan, which fooled Jack in his ADAM-addled state. Fontaine likewise was fooled, and along with the faked self-destruct and Atlas/Fontaine being 'handed' a similarly fake control key, these theatrics allowed Ryan to then follow Jack to Fontaine's location for the Master Parasite to be dealt with by Ryan's massed security. (Jack passed out and Ryan's men killed Atlas and chopped him into fishfood for good measure. Jack the 4 year old was sent to the Surface to be deprogrammed in Ryan's Surface Organization - the MMOROPG, no doubt, will have the 'Rest Of The Story') - As for being 'led by the nose' thru the plot (sorry its just NOT 'epic',in any real sense) I found it interesting that the game itself tells you to 'KILL ANDREW RYAN" (the goal when you are in the 'Control Room'), automatically forcing you to take the side of Atlas/Fontaine. You are in RYAN's City, he questions why YOU are there (YOU are the trespasser), and you are being compelled to murder him. No chance to really hear Ryan's side of the story, and you are fed lies you are in no position to judge. No choice are you given (as Yoda would say) other than to simply stop/quit the game right there. After you Kill Ryan (canned cutscene, no choice to resist, no choice of even how its done ...) it (and YOU) are just another dumb prop in the plot. "Choice" ... Bullshit. - Ryan got to America supposedly around 1920 barely a teenager, so had to work up from there - with many opportunities during the Roaring 20s ( possibly being involved in the Prohibition alcohol trade as one early source). Since Ryan apparently prospered/expanded during America's Depression, he then probably built a good part of his Industrial Empire around things that were expanding in America during that time. Power plants/distribution networks/utilities continued to be created/constructed -- possibly including ones associated with Hydro-Electric power. That could give Ryan and his Industrial Organization alot of knowhow and experience dealing with water and huge chunks of concrete (which Rapture largely was). - Why would Ryan leave corpses laying around in Rapture Central Control's operations room ??? You'd think that HE would have class/intelligence enough to dispose of them and not have them contaminate his command bunker. --- --- --- Found in Ryan's office in Hephaestus Very odd for something 'control system' related a throwback to 1900 technology. If they wanted to copy an idea, then why not use something similar to the German Enigma machine style - this thing looks like it has one of the 'genetic' keys inserted into it, and THAT might thus make a little sense. Possibly this is the electronic encoder (not Genetic) with which Ryan programmed the many Access Keys that gave access to control various things in the City. You have to control the means to create such keys (so thius this in his office). --- --- --- . This looks like it took a little longer to assemble than the few hours/days which Jack took to get to this part of the BS1 game. I take this as *My Proof* that Ryan knew about Fontaine's WYK Plot long before, and had plenty of time to cook up his own 'Twist' for Fontaine. Unfortunately the writers didn't even look at their own game to have figured it out. Cohesiveness and cleverness of story takes Skill and Effort. - Faulkner --- --- --- --- --- . .